A New York City Police Department captain drew backlash Friday
for saying a spike in reported rapes was "not a trend that we're
too worried about" because many of the perpetrators were
acquainted with the victims, and not strangers.

The 94th Precinct, in the Greenpoint neighborhood in Brooklyn,
has seen a 62.5% increase in reported rapes over the last
year, with 10 out of
13 reported cases in 2016 remaining unsolved,
DNAinfo reported Friday.

Police attributed the lack of arrests to the fact that most rapes
were committed by victims' acquaintances, adding that women
who reported the attacks often stopped cooperating with
investigators, according to DNAinfo.

"Some of them were Tinder, some of them were hookup sites, some
of them were actually coworkers. It's not a trend that we're too
worried about because out of 13 (cases), only two were true
stranger rapes," Captain Peter Rose told the website.

"Every rape should be investigated. I wish we could do more,"
Rose said.

Rose reportedly made further comments at a community council
meeting Wednesday suggesting that rapes committed by strangers to
the victim were more worrying to police than acquaintance rapes.

"They're not total abomination rapes where strangers are being
dragged off the streets," he said.

"If there's a true stranger rape, a random guy picks up a
stranger off the street, those are the troubling ones. That
person has, like, no moral standards," he added.

Rose's comments received fierce backlash from the public and city
officials alike, after being circulated on social media on
Friday. Sexual-violence prevention advocates frequently decry the
myths that most sexual assaults are committed by strangers
and that such cases are more severe than assaults committed by
acquaintances.

"Every report of rape is thoroughly investigated by specially
trained detectives in the NYPD's Special Victims Unit. All
complaints of rape and other types of sexual crimes are taken
seriously whether they are committed by domestic partners,
acquaintances, or strangers," Davis told Business Insider in a
statement.

A spokesman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said "rape is
rape," adding that the crime "merits no moral qualification and
does not involve shades of criminality or degrees of danger."

And New York City's public advocate, Letitia James, said in a
statement provided to Business Insider that she is
"extremely disturbed and concerned" by Rose's comments, and
called upon the police department to ensure its officers are
properly trained to handle sex crimes and interact with
victims.

"Too often, victims of rape and sexual crimes do not come
forward because of fear that their claims won’t be taken
seriously, and these comments perpetuate those concerns," James
said.

"I want victims to know that we believe them; we are here
for them; and we will never tolerate rape or sexual assault in
our society."

On Friday afternoon, the women's rights group UltraViolet called
upon the police department to immediately fire Rose "for his
dangerous and unacceptable views."

"Captain Peter Rose and the NYPD are engaging in victim-blaming
of the worst kind while judging which rapes they deem to be
legitimate and which they do not," co-founder Nita Chaudhary said
in a statement.

"With comments like these, it is not surprising that survivors of
sexual assault don’t feel comfortable reporting and cooperating
with police authorities who dismiss the seriousness of violence
against women."